Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Categories of publication

The following types of articles will be considered for publication :

(1) Original articles : Reports of original studies related to all issues of psychiatry, psychology and behavioral sciences that are well documented, novel, and significant . These articles should not exceed 5,500 words; have a total of 6 or fewer tables and figures, an abstract of 250 words or less .

(2)Brief Report : Brief, definitive reports of highly significant and timely findings . Advances should be 3,000 words long, with an abstract of no more than 150 words, a one-paragraph Introduction, an abbreviated Materials and Methods section, Results and Discussion sections (which may be combined) and no more than a total of 4 tables or figures .

(3) Short communication : Short descriptions of novel approaches to mental health problems or creative applications of established concepts in different settings . Advances should be 3,000 words long and no more than a total of 4 tables or figures, with an abstract of no more than 150 words .

(4) Review articles : Reviews are only accepted from experts in the field. They should not exceed 6,500 words of text with 5 or fewer tables and figures, an abstract of 250 words, and 100 or fewer references .

(5)Case report : This should be reports of genuine rare cases limited to no more than 1500 words comprising of a short introduction, case report and discussion followed by references of no more than 20. Limit the abstract to approximately 100 words. If colour figures and photos are absolutely necessary for the report, they should be original or of high quality .

(6) Letters to the Editor : In the spirit of open scientific dialogue, the Editor-in-Chief invites the submission of correspondence that presents considered opinions in response to articles published in the journal. Letters to the Editor will be reviewed and, if found to meet the requisite publication criteria, may be sent to the author(s) of the originally published article and possibly to other interested parties for a response to be published in the same issue of the journal as the Letter. Letters should have a brief title that references the topic of the originating article , and Letters should not exceed 400 words, with 5 or fewer references and no tables or figures .

Manuscript Preparation

Language : Manuscripts should be written in clear, American English . The past tense should be used throughout in describing the results and the present tense in referring to previously established and generally accepted results. Authors who are unsure of correct English usage should have their manuscript checked by somebody who is proficient in the language ; manuscripts that are deficient in this respect may be returned to the author for revision before scientific review .

Typing : Manuscripts must be typewritten in a font size of 12 points, double-spaced (including References , Tables and Figure legends) with wide margins (2.5 cm from all sides) on one side of A 4 paper. The beginning of each new paragraph must be clearly indicated by indentation. Each of the following sections should start on a separate page: Abstract, text, references, tables and figure legends . All pages should be numbered consecutively at the bottom starting with the title page .

Title : Write a brief and informative title that identifies the nature of the subject matter. Avoid chemical formulas or abbreviations .

Title page : The title page should include : (a ) the full title of the article ( b ) the authors' full names (first name, middle initial , surname) with degrees and status in the institute ; (c ) affiliations , institution, city, and state or country where the work was done ; (d ) acknowledgments of grant support of the study ; (e ) the name and full address of corresponding author indicated by a star ( as well as telephone and facsimile numbers, e-mail address, and if available URL address ); and ( f ) running title (not more than 30 spaces ).

Abbreviations : Only common abbreviations may be used without definition. Terms appearing frequently ( three or more times ) within a paper may be abbreviated, but should be spelled out at first citation, with the abbreviation following in parentheses .

Pejorative Language: Do not use pejorative labels like "schizophrenics", "psychotics" and " neurotics". Instead refer to "patients with schizophrenia ", etc .

Abstract : This should not be more than 250 words and should state purpose of the study, basic procedures , most important findings, and principal conclusions . Original articles must use the following headings: Objective , Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Write the abstract in third person. References should not be cited and abbreviations should be avoided .

Keywords : A list of three to five keywords should be included below the abstract in alphabetical order, and should be taken from those recommended by the US National Library of Medicine's Medical Subject Headings (MESH) browser list . If suitable MESH terms are not yet available for recently introduced terms, present terms may be used .

Original articles must use the following headings

Introduction : This should contain a description of the problem under investigation and relevant background information and published studies should be described concisely, and be cited appropriately .

Materials and Methods : The methods, apparatus and procedures should be identified in sufficient details . Avoid redescribing methods frequently cited before; only relevant modifications should be included in the text. For experiments on humans, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accord with the standards of the ethics Committee of the institution in which the experiments were done. For drugs the generic name should be used. Trade names may appear in parentheses and should be capitalized .

Results : This section should include the findings of the study. Data should not be repeated in both a Table and a Figure .

Discussion : It should relate the results to previous works and interpret them not a simple recapitulate of the Results .

Acknowledgments : This optional part should include a statement thanking those who assisted substantially with work relevant to the study. Grant support should be included in this section .

References : References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in parentheses . References cited only in tables or figure legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure .

Use the style of the examples below , which are based on the formats used by the NLM in Index Medicus. The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus . Consult the List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus, published annually as a separate publication by the library and as a list in the January issue of Index Medicus. The list can also be obtained through the library's web site ( http://www.nlm.nih.gov ).

References to papers or books accepted but not yet published should be designated as "in press"; authors should obtain written permission to cite such papers as well as verification that they have been accepted for publication. Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited in the text as " unpublished observations" with written permission from the source .

Avoid citing a "personal communication " unless it provides essential information not available from a public source, in which case the name of the person and date of communication should be cited in parentheses in the text. For scientific articles, authors should obtain written permission and confirmation of accuracy from the source of a personal communication .